How to save on groceries? (Kako ustedeti na namirnicama?)

Prerequisites: 

1. Recipes for dishes, all in one place. 

It can be a notebook (paper and pencil), an application like Google Docs on your phone, MS Word on your computer or any other digital format.

Why?

Because when you decide to replace the foods you were planning to buy with those currently on sale, you'll need ready-to-use recipes.

Yes, you can look for recipes online, but it's much better to have them written down already.

If you already prepare meals in advance, why not prepare recipes in advance? 

 2. Check what you already have at home before buying. 

Inspect the refrigerator, pantry, and kitchen cabinets. That way, you won't buy another package of something you already have, and you can't use it soon, that is, before it goes bad.

For example, you have yellow cheese for a few days. It's on sale at the store, you know you won't be able to use it, and since it doesn't freeze, it's going to trash.

Or, buy ripe fruit, you know you won't have time to make jam, make juice or freeze it, so it spoils by standing.

 0. Bring paper and a pen or phone. 

 1. Bring a shopping list, but pay attention to items on sale. 

Make a list, but watch for discounts.

For example, you planned to buy green beans and onions, but saw that broccoli and spring onions were on sale. Make the change and write it down so you know about it later when you're preparing food and for your next shopping list.

 2. Buy expensive groceries only when they are on sale, that is, at a good price. 

Sometimes the store brand is cheaper, but sometimes a well-known product on sale is a better deal. 

 3a. Shop at different stores. 

Some foods are cheaper in one store and others in another.

Compare prices in stores and write them down. That way, you'll know how prices move in certain stores over a period of two or three months.

You can also check prices online if the store has a website, but be sure to check that the prices on the website are the same as in the store.

 3b. It's worth checking prices online. 

Sometimes you can buy some foods cheaper than in the store.

 4. Buy large quantities at once, but know the prices. 

Buy only if the price is really good. Be careful not to throw away food just because it was cheap and you didn't manage to use it up.

 5. Use coupons, but watch the prices. 

The same applies as for buying larger quantities at once.

 6. Buy seasonal foods. 

Wait until their price is favorable, then buy a larger quantity and put it in the freezer (if you have one).

I rent apartments, and most of them don't have a freezer.

 7. Prepare food at home instead of ordering it online or eating out. 

• You choose how much oil, salt, sugar and other additives you add.
• You choose the meat, vegetables, grains and other ingredients yourself.
• You can cook a larger quantity and have meals for the following days.

Cooking at home lowers the cost per meal, especially if you buy groceries in larger packages and use them for more meals (and freeze t. hem).

 8. Leftovers are also a meal. Eat them. 

First, do not put too much food in or on the plate. It's easier to fill your plate again if you're still hungry than to throw away food from your plate. 

Second, you cook a chowder (stew) for lunch and there is half a pot left over. Instead of making something else tomorrow, eat that stew for lunch or dinner.

Third, you can make a new dish tomorrow, but freeze the stew (chowder) for another time

Just keep in mind that not everything can be frozen. This is meal planning.

 9. Be careful with farmers markets. 

They are not always cheaper. But it also depends on the country you live in. Fifteen years ago, the markets were cheaper than the stores, but in recent years the prices are the same or even higher. 

Pay attention to the groceries in certain stores, ie. what is their shelf life, from the time you bring them home.

I ordered online (I don't have another online store) among other things, and fresh vegetables. If I don't prepare the food the day after delivery, it spoils. I often get spoiled food. No matter where I store food, it spoils very quickly. It wasn't always like that. We used to buy 10 kg (22 pounds) of potatoes and it lasted half the winter. Now I buy potatoes, either they are rotten inside or they sprout. I'm cooking, half of the potatoes in the pot are black.

Why am I saying this? Because when the vegetables are rotten from the inside, you cannot know before you buy them. But if you shop twice in the same store, and both times they are rotten inside, the third time you'll think twice about whether to buy. Isn't it?

 10. Avoid impulse buying and stick to a shopping list, but pay attention to discounts. 

• Impulse buying is when you buy something you don't really need and won't use.
• Another is to buy items on sale that are not on your list but will be used soon.

For example, if dry beans (e.g. pinto beans) are on sale and you already have them at home, buy them because you will use them in a few weeks or months.

 11. Make your own spice mix instead of buying it, even if the store-bought version is cheap. 

For example, make your own spice mix and herb mix instead of buying it. Why? Spices have more aroma and taste if you grind them yourself. The same goes for herbs, if you grow your own. If you do not have the opportunity to grow, visit a health food store (bulk food store).

You can find the recipes on my blog, in the category (column on the right) or on the Herbs and spices page.

 11b. “Steal ingredients” from the store. 

Read the ingredients, then take a photo with your phone. Some are more difficult to capture, for example on small round bottles, but it is doable. Or find them online if possible. 

 12. Give up unhealthy foods. 

For example, carbonated drinks and juices. Make your own syrups, homemade juices or teas. Store-bought snacks, chips, biscuits and the like are full of additives - homemade snacks are a better choice.

 Categories on the blog (column on the right, Ctrl+F type the name of the category) 

1. Salty crackers
2. Salty snacks
3. Savory pastries from the Dough category.
4. Bread and rolls
5. Sweet bread and rolls
6. Vanilla cookies
7. Oat flakes cookies
8. Biscuits for coffee and tea
9. Bars and cookies 

Pâtés - make your own pâtés.

It may not always be cheaper, but it will be healthier.

Pates and spreads category.

It would be a good idea not to prepare a lot of unhealthy food at home, such as deep-fried food, sweets with a lot of sugar or too much salty food.

As you eat today, so will your children eat tomorrow. Yes, yes, now you say my children eat differently than me. But your genes are written in their genes. Think about it.

 13. Do not buy already cut vegetables and fruits. 

Why? It is usually more expensive per kilo. When you buy whole foods, you don't pay for additional cutting, preparation and packaging, so you can save money.

For example, don't buy peeled garlic or anything you can do yourself.

If it's a cleaned fish, that's fine; not everyone knows how to clean a fish, nor wants to learn how to do it. The same applies to the whole chicken or turkey.

 14. Keep receipts in an envelope or box. 

Review the accounts once a week and at the end of the month. You can use an Excel spreadsheet, a Google spreadsheet, or a notebook and pencil.

Also, track the expenses of the entire household. You need to know where your money is going each month. For example: loan payments, taxes, lawn mowing, house help/cleaning (if you need it due to health issues), children's sports activities, gym membership, grocery shopping (food, personal hygiene products, laundry products, pet supplies), car wash, parking.

 15. Compare the price per kilogram (pound) or liter, not just the price of the package. 

A larger package is not automatically cheaper. Comparing the unit price will show you what is really cheaper.

 16. Take advantage of purchasing products before the expiration date when you know you will use them immediately. 

Stores sometimes reduce the price of products that are nearing their expiration date. It can be a good savings if you have a plan to spend them on time.

Preduslovi:

 1. Recepti za jela, sve na jednom mestu. 

To može biti sveska (papir i olovka), aplikacija poput Gugle dokumenata na telefonu, MS Word na racunaru ili bilo koji drugi digitalni format.

Zasto?

Zato što će vam, kada odlučite da zamenite namirnice koje ste planirali da kupite sa onima koje su trenutno na sniženju, biti potrebni recepti spremni za upotrebu.

Da, recepte možete tražiti i na internetu, ali je mnogo bolje imati ih već zapisane.

Ako već unapred pripremate obroke, zašto ne biste unapred pripremili i recepte?

 2. Proverite sta vec imate kod kuce pre kupovine. 

Pregledajte frizider, ostavu i kuhinjske ormariće. Tako necete kupiti jos jedno pakovanje necega sto vec imate, a ne mozete ga iskoristiti u skorije vreme tj. pre nego što se pokvari.

Na primer, kačkavalj imate za nekoliko dana. U prodavnici je na snizenju, znate da necete uspeti da ga potrosite, a posto se ne zamrzava propasce.

Ili, kupite zrelo voće, znate da necete stici da skuvate dzem, napravite sok ili da zamrznete, pa se stajanjem pokvari.

 0. Ponesite papir i olovku ili telefon. 

 1. Ponesite spisak za kupovinu, ali obratite pažnju na artikle na sniženju. 

Napravite spisak, ali pratite sniženja.

Na primer, planirali ste da kupite boraniju i crni luk, ali ste videli da su brokoli i mladi luk na sniženju. Napravite izmenu i zabeležite je na papir kako biste znali za kasnije, kada budete pripremali hranu, kao i za sledeći spisak za kupovinu.

 2. Skupe namirnice kupujte samo kada su na sniženju, odnosno po povoljnoj ceni. 

Ponekad je robna marka prodavnice jeftinija, ali ponekad je poznati proizvod na snizenju povoljniji.

 3a. Kupujte u različitim prodavnicama. 

Neke namirnice su jeftinije u jednoj prodavnici, a druge u nekoj drugoj.

Uporedite cene u prodavnicama i zapišite ih. Tako ćete znati kako se cene kreću u određenim prodavnicama tokom perioda od dva ili tri meseca. 

Takođe možete proveriti cene na internetu ako prodavnica ima vebsajt, ali obavezno proverite da li su cene na sajtu iste kao one u prodavnici.

 3b. Vredi proveriti cene onlajn. 

Neke namirnice ponekad mozete kupiti povoljnije nego u prodavnici.

 4. Kupujte vece kolicine odjednom, ali znajte cene. 

Kupujte samo ako je cena zaista povoljna. Pazite da ne bacite hranu samo zato što je bila jeftina, a niste uspeli da je potrošite.

 5. Koristite kupone, ali pratite cene. 

Isto važi kao i za kupujte veće količine odjednom.

 6. Kupujte sezonske namirnice.  Sačekajte da im cena bude povoljna, pa kupite veću količinu i stavite je u zamrzivač (ako ga imate).

Ja iznajmljujem stan, a većina stanova nema zamrzivač.

7. Pripremajte hranu kod kuće umesto da je naručujete onlajn ili jedete u restoranima.

• Sami birate koliko ulja, soli, secera i drugih dodataka stavljate.
• Sami birate meso, povrce, zitarice i ostale sastojke.
• Mozete skuvati vecu kolicinu i imati obroke za naredne dane.

Kuvanje kod kuce smanjuje trosak po obroku, posebno ako kupujete namirnice u vecim pakovanjima i koristite ih za vise obroka (i cuvate zamrzavanjem).

 8. I ostaci hrane su obrok. Pojedite ih. 

Prvo u ili na tanjir ne stavljati previse hrane. Lakse je dopuniti tanjir ako ste jos gladni, nego bacati hranu iz tanjira.

Drugo, skuvate corbu za rucak i ostane pola serpe. Umesto da sutra pravite nesto drugo, pojedite tu corbu za rucak ili veceru.

Trece, mozete vi da napravite sutra novo jelo, ali zamrznite corbu za neki drugi put 

Samo imajte na umu da ne moze sve da se zamrzne. Ovo je planiranja obroka.

 9. Budite oprezni sa pijacama. 

One nisu uvek jeftinije. Ali to takodje zavisi od zemlje u kojoj živite. Pre 15 godina, pijace su bile jeftinije od prodavnica, ali poslednjih godina cene su iste ili čak više.

Obratite pažnju na namirnice u odredjenim prodavnicama tj. koliki im je rok trajanja, od vremena kad ih donesete kuci. 

Ja porucujen onlajn (nemam drugu nogucnost onlajn prodavnice) izmedju ostalog, i sveže povrce. Ako dan posle dostave ne pripremim hranu pokvari se. Često puta dobijem već pokvarenu hranu. Bez obzira gde čuvam hranu ona se pokvari vrlo brzo. Nekad nije bilo tako. Kupovali smo dzak od 10 kg krompira i trajao je pola zime. Sad kupim krompir, ili je pokvaren iznutra ili proklija. Skuvam, ono pola krompira u šerpi crni.

Zašto ovo kazem? Jer kad je povrće kvarno iznutra vi to ne mozete znati pre nego ga kupite. Ali ako dva puta kupujete u istoj prodavnici, i oba puta je pokvareno iznutra, za treći put cete se dobro zamisliti da li cete kupiti. Zar ne?

10. Izbegavajte impulsivnu kupovinu i držite se spiska za kupovinu, ali obratite pažnju na popuste.

• Impulsivna kupovina je kada kupite nešto što vam zapravo nije potrebno i što nećete koristiti.
• Drugo je kupovina stvari na popustu koje nisu na vašem spisku, ali ćete ih uskoro upotrebiti.

Na primer, ako je suvi pasulj (npr. pinto pasulj) na popustu, a već ga imate kod kuće, kupite ga, jer cete ga iskoristiti za nekoliko nedelja ili meseci.

 11. Pripremaite miks začina sami umesto da je kupujete, čak i ako je kupovna verzija jeftina. 

Na primer, napravite sopstvenu mešavinu začina i bilja umesto da je kupujete. Zašto? Zacini imaju vise mirisa i ukusa ako ih sameljete sami. Isto vazi i za bilje, ako gajite sopstveno. Ako nemate nogucnost gajenja, posetite prodavnicu zdrave hrane.

Recepte mozete pronaci na mom blogu, u kategoriji (kolona sa desne strane) ili stranici Bilje i zacini.

 11b. „Ukradite sastojke” iz prodavnice. 

Pročitajte sastojke, a zatim ih fotografišite telefonom. Neke je teže snimiti, na primer na malim okruglim bočicama, ali je izvodljivo. Ili ih pronadjite na internetu ako je dostupno.

 12. Odustanite od nezdravih namirnica. 

Na primer, gaziranih pića i sokova. Pravite sopstvene sirupe, domace sokove ili cajeve. Kupovne grickalice, cips, keks i slično puni su aditiva – domace grickalice su bolji izbor. 

Kategorije na blogu (kolona sa desne strane, Ctrl+F upisite naziv kategorije)

1. Slani krekeri 
2. Slane grickalice 
3. Slana peciva iz kategorije Testo.
4. Hleb i kifle
5. Slatki hleb i kifle
6. Vanila kolacici
7. Ovseni kolacici 
8. Keksi za kafu i caj
9. Stanglice i sitni kolaci

Pastete – pravite svoje pastete.

Možda neće uvek biti jeftinije, ali će biti zdravije.

Pastete i namazi kategorija. 

Bilo bi dobro da kod kuće ne pripremate mnogo nezdrave hrane, poput pržene hrane u dubokom ulju, slatkiša sa puno šećera ili previše slanih jela. 

Kako vi jedete danas, tako ce vasa deca jesti sutra. Da, da, sad kazete moja deca Jedi drugacije nego ja. Ali, u njihovim genima su zapisani vasi geni. Mislite o tome. 

 13. Ne kupujte već isečeno povrće i voće. 

Zašto? Obicno je skuplje po kilogramu. Kada kupujete cele namirnice, ne placate dodatno secenje, pripremu i ambalazu, pa mozete ustedeti.

Na primer, nemojte kupovati očišćen beli luk ili bilo šta što možete sami da uradite. 

Ako je u pitanju očišćena riba, to je u redu; ne zna svako da očisti ribu, niti želi da nauči kako se to radi. Isto vazi i za celu kokosku ili curku.

 14. Čuvajte račune u koverti ili kutiji. 

Pregledajte racune jednom nedeljno i na kraju meseca. Možete koristiti Eksel tabelu, Gugl tabelu ili svesku i olovku.

Takođe, pratite troškove celog domaćinstva. Morate znati gde odlazi vaš novac svakog meseca. Na primer: otplata kredita, porez, košenje travnjaka, pomoć u kući/čišćenje (ako vam je potrebno zbog zdravstvenih problema), sportske aktivnosti dece, članarina za teretanu, nabavka namirnica (hrana, sredstva za ličnu higijenu, proizvodi za pranje veša, potrepštine za kućne ljubimce), pranje automobila, parking.

 15. Uporedite cenu po kilogramu ili litru, a ne samo cenu pakovanja. 

Vece pakovanje nije automatski jeftinije. Uporedjivanje jedinicne cene pokazace vam sta je zaista povoljnije.

 16. Iskoristite kupovinu proizvode pred istekom roka kada znate da cete ih odmah upotrebiti. 

Prodavnice nekad snize cenu proizvoda kojima se priblizava rok. To moze biti dobra usteda ako imate plan da ih potrosite na vreme.